Happy Christmas!!

Just a quick post to say Happy Christmas to all my lovely readers!!  And thank you also to everybody who has commented, it is always appreciated!

So I'm signing off for a bit now - I'll be spending a week over Christmas with my parents & my brother and his family, and then New Year with my partner and some old friends.  There'll be a fair bit of travel, but I'll have my trusty Round In Spirals notebook to hand so I can get busy with my blogging plans for 2018.

Coming up will be:

• some serious decluttering - I've been at it for a couple of years now, but I'm ready for a big push in the New Year.
• meal-planning - I really want to feature food more on the blog.
• no-spend days, weeks, even months if possible - I need to rein it in a bit...having said that, there will almost certainly be...
• more charity shop finds, and
• as much sustainable/ethical living as I can fit into the coming year. 

See you very soon!

Much love,

Elaine xxx

5 more things I've stopped buying

In no particular order, here are a few more things I've cut back my spending on:

1)  Dry cleaning

Ages ago, I splashed out on an expensive pair of work trousers which were dry-clean only.  I liked how they looked, so I wore them a lot.  When I realised I'd spent just as much money on the dry-cleaning as the trousers cost in the first place, that was that.  No more.  Now I only choose machine or hand washable clothes, and even then, the hand washable stuff goes in the machine too.  (For the record, I've had very few, if any mishaps, with the hand-wash items.)

2) Fabric conditioner

My mum never used fabric conditioner when I was growing up, and so it has just never occurred to me that it's necessary.  It's also pretty bad for towels, making their fibres less absorbent, as my partner's Dad has found out through years of dedicated fabric conditioning.  I quite like a rough towel - saves money on exfoliators!

3) Micro-fibre cloths

One of the hardest things about trying to live a more planet-friendly life is finding out that a product you've switched to in good faith is actually harmful to the environment.  Micro-fibre cloths are firmly in the frame here.  They are marketed as being eco-friendly because they lessen the need for cleaning products.  Which is fine as far as it goes, but it turns out that synthetic fibres are a serious environmental problem.  I've therefore purchased my last micro-fibre cloth, and will stop using the ones I already have.

4) Regular subscription boxes

I used to get both the lifestyle and the beauty subscription boxes from The Vegan Kind, but I've cancelled both of them.  Not because I didn't love receiving them - I did - but I ended up with more products than I could get through before the next box arrived.  The beauty products, that is - the snacks disappeared pretty quickly. 

I also tried out a couple of subscription meal boxes from the Mindful Chef, but decided it was something I could live without.  The meals were delicious, and the ingredients were fresh and great quality.  But the packaging...

It was too much.  Just look at this lot!  At the front of the pic is a teaspoon of paprika in a plastic tub, and a glass jar of mustard.  As a keen cook, I already have full-sized jars of paprika and mustard, so I just didn't need these.  I've kept the recipe cards they sent, but I'll be buying the ingredients myself, at a fraction of the cost. 

5)  Magazine subscriptions

I haven't kicked the magazine habit altogether, but I don't get subscriptions anymore.  Not least as they all come in clear plastic bags.  If there was an option to have magazines delivered in paper envelopes, I'd probably go for that.  But until then...no thanks!

What are you saving on?

My 'goals' for 2017 - review of the year so far

OK, 2017 isn't quite out yet, but as I've already achieved my personal goals for the year, I may as well have a little review!    In fairness, it helped that I had a very short list of goals, but they were quite big and important ones for me. When I say 'goals', they weren't as in a formal list that I wrote down at the start of the year or anything.  They were more like things that were essential to me and my continued well-being.  Anyway, they were:

1)  Get made permanent in my new job, after 15 gruelling months of training (I managed this in February 2017).

2) Drop my hours to 0.9 time, so the equivalent of 33.3 hours per week (this happened in August 2017).

3) Switch my mortgage deal as my current 5 year fixed deal was due to end in January (got this sorted on 1 December 2017).

These are all steps towards my masterplan which, in a nutshell, is to reduce my time spent at work, and to pay off my mortgage early at the same time.  This time round, my new two year mortgage deal has allowed me to reduce the monthly payments by around £150.  I will be topping the payments back up by that amount every month, and this will apparently reduce the overall term by 5 years.  5 years!!  That's a lot.  I can stop the overpayments if I need to, but it's a big incentive to find ways to cut back my spending and achieve this bigger goal. 

There is even a term for my plan, which I hadn't realised until I read the book Stuffocation, by James Wallman.  Yes, it turns out I am espousing a movement called 'the medium chill'.  The medium chill exists in contrast to the big chill, which involves making as much money as you can whilst you are younger, then retiring around forty or so, and chilling.  If you're not too burnt out to enjoy it.

I don't mind admitting that I don't have the ambition to achieve the big chill, so the medium it is for me. As a label, it doesn't have much currency - in the book, Wallman rejects it as a movement in favour of experientialism.  Still, the original article on medium chilling at grist.org makes for an interesting read.  (And experientialism sounds quite tiring, really...)

I don't want to set out any goals for next year just yet - plenty of time for that - but hopefully 2018 will bring some more medium chilling.  (It just needs a better name!)

10 life hacks around the house

 

I am always on the lookout for life hacks around the house, whether they save me time or money, or just help to make life a little better.  So when I spotted an old Reader’s Digest book called ‘Household Hints and Handy Tips’ on a charity shop trip, I was excited to see what gems I could get out of it. 

 

The book is from 1992, so a lot of the advice, for example, the financial management section, is quite outdated.  Nonetheless, here are 10 hacks I picked up as I read through:

1)    If you want to line-dry a garment without pegging it, use a pair of tights.  With a delicate sweater, for example, thread a leg through each arm of the sweater, then pull the waist of the tights through the neck hole.  Peg the tights to the line, and you’ll avoid peg marks on the garment as it dries. 

2)   Store earrings by fastening them through the holes of a large button OR use an ice-cube tray as an organiser to keep earrings in a drawer.

3)   Freshen carpets with a homemade dry shampoo – sprinkle the carpet liberally with salt or cornflower (the book also suggests oatmeal, but presumably it would need to be fairly fine), leave for a couple of hours, then vacuum off. 

4)   Cleaning light bulbs keeps them brighter.  Remove them from their fittings when cold, and wash with a damp cloth.  Make sure they are completely dry before refitting. 

5)   Don’t make your bed when you get up – apparently, we lose up to 300ml of body moisture each night, and if you make the bed immediately, this moisture will be trapped in the mattress and bedding.  Leave the duvet or covers back for at least 20 minutes before making the bed. 

6)   Always use two pillowcases to protect pillows from skin oils, night creams etc getting into the filling.  If you have foam pillows, these are particularly susceptible to damage from oils. 

7)   If you want rice as an accompaniment to a meal you are cooking in the oven, you can cook the rice in the oven too.  Measure the rice by volume (50-90ml per person) and put into a dish which has a lid.  Boil double the volume of water, add to the dish, and cook in the oven with the lid on.  It will take a bit longer than on the hob, but it saves boiling a pot. 

8)   I try to use bowls and dishes to store food in the freezer, and so I sometimes run out if several are in there at once. A tip from the book is to line a bowl with aluminium foil, place food into the foil and freeze.  Once the food is solid, you can lift it out of the bowl in the foil, wrap it over, and put it back in the freezer. 

9)   If you can’t stand the fiddly process of peeling shallots, garlic cloves or small onions, pour some boiling water into a dish and soak them for a few minutes.  Let them cool down, and the skins will be far less papery and annoying, and much easier to remove. 

10)   Instead of buying a purpose-made steamer, you can steam vegetables using a metal colander or sieve set on top of a pan of boiling water.  Place a neatly fitting lid on the colander, and keep an eye on the water level in the pan in case it boils dry. 

These are not ground-breaking, I will admit, but I hope they help!

Thrifted Thursday - recent frugal charity shop finds

As an antidote to Black Friday, and on a different day, here are my recent finds from my local charity shops.  It's a little home wares haul this time, and all the pieces are already being loved and used in my house. 

Even with charity shop visits, I have started a process of not buying something I like there and then.  Regardless of how inexpensive it might be, it's still a waste of money if you buy on impulse, and that item just becomes another unit of clutter.  So I spotted all these items on the first trip round the shops, but left it till the next day to go back and buy them. 

This way, if I've forgotten about something I've seen, then I can't have wanted it that badly in the first place.  If an item has been sold by the time I get back to the shop, then the decision is taken out of my hands.  If I go back in search of something, and it's still there, and I'm sure I'll use/enjoy it, then I'll go ahead and buy my thrifty little treasures. 

So this time round, I got:

1) A couple of plant pots.  Their simple, minimal designs caught my eye, and they were under £2 each. 

2) A ceramic pot with a lid, which says Le Bain on the front.  As the name suggests, I've put it to use in the bathroom, to store cotton buds and cotton face pads. It cost £3.

3) The candle dish that the red candle is sitting on, which was £1.

4) And finally, a plate, originally from M&S, for £3.99.  I loved this complex peacock pattern at first sight, and I'm using it as a decorative item rather than as a dinner plate.  It would do as a serving plate if I was ever to find myself in need of making canapés available to guests (not something that happens very often...).

So that's my haul.  No Black Friday stress, no need to trouble the overdraft, and I've given a little bit of cash to charity into the bargain.  It's all good...!

T K Maxx - cruelty-free (small) haul

I went to Edinburgh recently for a day trip to meet up with an old friend.  Whilst I was waiting for her bus to get in, I nipped into T K Maxx for a little stock up. I've run out of Dr Bronners, and normally they have loads in, but not this time.  Never mind,,,!

What I did get was...

... a lovely big bottle of shampoo by Alba Botanica, who are certified by Cruelty Free International.  There were a number of different scents available, but this is the gardenia version - it smells quite pungent and floral, but not to the point of being unpleasant.  It is free of artificial colours, parabens, phthalates, and harsh sulphates.  This is a 946ml bottle for £9.99, so pretty good value. 

I like to buy a litre or so at a time so it will keep me going for ages.  The only small concern is that, if I've not tried the product before, it might not be good for my scalp.  This has happened before - I got a lovely big bottle of shampoo home, only to find that it made my head itchy.  The answer was just to use it as shower gel instead.  It did a great job, and none of it went to waste. 

I also got the Deep Sea Spearmint toothpaste by Jason,  Again, I haven't used this product before, but I like it.  It tastes less sweet than my usual Superdrug own brand toothpaste, but it's still minty and fresh.  I can't get used to toothpastes that don't taste of mint - just seems wrong somehow.  It cost £3.99, which isn't cheap, but this is a 170g tube, so it's quite a but bigger then the Superdrug stuff.  It's certified bunny friendly, and is also free of a long list of undesirable ingredients. 

 



Finally, I got three pairs of bamboo socks for £4.99 from a brand called Glenmuir.  At my local health food shop, the bamboo socks can be pricey, so I was happy to find these!

Hopefully, the Dr Bronners will be back on my next visit...

FatFace achieves cruelty-free certification

This week, fashion store FatFace has received leaping bunny certification for its whole cosmetics and toiletries range.  I have to say that I didn't know they had cosmetics or toiletries, but nonetheless, it's great to know that one more CF option will be easily accessible and available on the high street.  I noticed on their website that they do not use down in their clothing, which is another plus. It's true that every little helps... :)

Lumie Bodyclock - review

A few years ago, I reviewed the Lumie Bodyclock, which is a dawn simulator alarm clock.  With the clocks going back this weekend, I though I'd provide a link to the original review.  My Lumie is still going strong, and I use it all year round, not just during the winter.  There have been no problems or glitches with it, and I've probably had to change the bulb once since I got it.  For me, it is still worth every penny it cost.  When I'm away from home, it's quite strange waking up to darkness without it.  The original review is here:

https://roundinspirals.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/review-lumie-bodyclock.html#.WfTWn__2bIU


Since my original review, a very cute children's version called the Bedbug has come out, which you can find here.  Lumie now offer a 45 day trial so you can give it a go, but it's hard to imagine anybody being disappointed with this great product.  If you struggle to wake up to dark winter mornings, it could just be the answer.

Thoughts on working from home

I've been working from home for almost exactly two years now, so it seemed like a good time to step back and reflect on what the experience has been like so far.  Before, I worked for a local council, and the job was mostly office-based.  Despite being in a good team of people that I got on with (for the most part!), the job itself was very stressful in a lot of ways.  I was seriously looking at some form of self-employment, when suddenly my current post came up, and I managed to nab it. 

During the long days at the office, I used to think that working from home would be the most blissful thing ever.  The reality is that, as with most things, there are positives and negatives.  Firstly, the positives:

1) Saving money (and calories).  I was really bad at bringing packed lunches, and work had a canteen and a dreaded vending machine, so I paid out quite a lot on food.  A trip to the vending machine for a Diet Coke and a bar of chocolate was often the highlight of my day, so that was a really tough habit to kick.  Actually, I never did kick it until I left.  I also used to have half an hour's commute each way every day, so between food and petrol, I've saved roughly £125 a month. Not bad.

2) Saving waste.  As I am now buying a lot less pre-packaged food, I have cut down a lot on the amount of plastic waste I was generating.  Cans can be recycled, of course, but it's just better not to buy them in the first place.  This is a major positive, and I would not go back to my old ways again. 

3) Mornings are so much less stressful.  I can get up at 8.45am, make a coffee, and still be at my desk by 9am!  It's not ideal, but it can be done. 

4) Working hours are as flexible as I want.  Having said that, I tend to stick to 9-5 or thereabouts, firstly because I need to be available to my team at the office (this is because I am employed, but I work remotely - I am not free-lance).  Secondly, I don't want to fall into bad habits and have work start to eat into my evenings and weekends.  It is much better to keep to regular hours, and then have my free time clearly defined. 

And the negatives:

1) The isolation.  This is the main drawback of home-based work, and it's a big one.  Even if, like me, you are not the most extrovert person in the world, being on your own all day is tough. Mentally, this has been the biggest adjustment - even after two years, I still haven't completely gotten used to it. I still miss the office banter, and the moral support when things go wrong.

2) The quiet.  At the office, I used to enjoy the background buzz.  Somehow, having the radio or a CD on is not the same, and for me it is too distracting.  So I end up working in silence, which I don't like very much. 

3) Sneaky bad habits.  In a lot of ways, I've ended up switching previous bad habits for new ones.  For example, I usually take a full hour for my lunch break, but often I spend a lot of that time making something to eat because I haven't prepared anything, or having a shower because I didn't get round to it first thing.  Good time management is still an issue!

4) Managing expectations.  Like I said, I thought working from home, away from the office grind, would be a nirvana-like existence.  It isn't.  I also expected I'd start to do things I thought I had no time for, like going out for nice walks during the day, or going to the gym first thing in the morning, or... any number of things.  These mostly haven't happened.  I've had to accept that if I want to do these things, I have to plan for them, and manage my time more efficiently (see No 3).  They do not happen automatically. 

Luckily, I've got a couple of weeks off work coming up, so I'm going to use the time to adjust some of the negatives a bit, and make my day-to-day experience better.  Not because working from home is bad, far from it, but it has definitely been a much bigger transition than I'd imagined.

Do you work from home?  If so, how do you find it?

Great words of blogging encouragement

I just wanted to write a little post to share this post from Cait Flanders, about growing your blog slowly, and not becoming a slave to the numbers.  It's a great read, and a timely reminder to 'do you' with your blog, and not worry too much about what you think people might want to read.  It's super helpful and encouraging, and I'm sure I'll come back to it any time I get hit by blogging malaise.  (Hopefully not too often). 

My frugal week

This is not a finance blog, and I am no genius with money, but I do like to cut costs.  To me, being frugal is about cutting down on unnecessary spending wherever possible in order to channel it into the things that count.  For example, it is not important to me to drive an expensive new car, so my partner and I share his old Rover hatchback.  It's around 14 years old now, but it does everything we need it to do.  I prefer to spend money on good quality food, beauty products, books, things that I really enjoy. 

So this week, I have:

1) Switched my home insurance provider and saved £241 on last year's premium.  (A saving this big suggests I should have sorted this long before the renewal date, but at least it's done now.)

2) Booked my flights home to see my folks for Christmas whilst the prices are still fairly low.  I got a return flight with Easyjet for £110 from Newcastle to Belfast, which isn't bad.  I could have got a cheaper price, but the flight times were good.  I don't buy any extras, and I take only a cabin bag, so that all helps to keep the costs down. 

3) Bought a pair of jeans from a charity shop for £5! Why pay more!

Things I've stopped buying - minimalism

I love reading blog posts on this subject.  I've been trying to cut down on my spending and acquiring over the last couple of years, so I thought I'd have a round up of the things I buy a lot less of...

1) Stuff whilst travelling

I used to have quite a habit of buying unnecessary things whilst travelling.  By this I mean things like:getting a chocolate bar when paying for petrol, or from a vending machine whilst waiting for a train; getting snacks on the train; buying stuff (mostly make-up) at the airport; buying souvenirs on holiday; buying something on the airport on the way back from holiday (often a bottle of unusually flavoured alcohol that would never be finished).  Somehow, travelling would be an excuse for spending money and treating myself - even if I wasn't going very far at all.  Now, I will still get something to eat or drink if I really need it, but I've cut down on the superfluous bits and pieces.

2) Clothes

For many years, clothes shopping was the thing I did at the weekend, or at lunchtimes, or whenever, really.  I've cut down at lot on my purchasing, and done a lot of decluttering.  To the point where I almost don't have enough to wear anymore... As a result, I need to rethink and update my wardrobe a bit, but this will make a post of its own...

3) Bits and pieces for the house

Or knick-knacks, as my friend used to call my choice of home decor.  I've moved house quite a few times, and even though it is stressful, one of the things I've always liked was seeing my (soon to be former) home look so clean and calm once I'd packed away all the clutter.  So I've decided that I want to create that clean, calm environment without moving out, and accumulating fewer home wares really helps. 

4) Hair dye

I may not cut this out for ever, but lately, I've not got round to dying my hair for a while, and as a result the greys are showing through.  However, in a surprise move, friends started to complement me on my natural colour!  I was surprised, but pretty pleased, so I've left my hair uncoloured for now...

5) Flavoured teas and coffees

I like to try different foods and flavours, and so I've often tried unusually flavoured teas and coffees.  Eventually, though, I realised that I don't really like them that much.  Mostly, it's the idea of them I like, rather than the actual hot drink once it's in front of me.  So now, I just stick to the plain tea and coffee brands that I know I like.  It saves money, and saves me palming off that strange fruit tea on somebody that doesn't really want it either.

There are a lot more things I've cut back on, these were just the ones that sprang readily to mind...

Review - PHB Beauty

There was great excitement in my house today when my PHB Beauty parcel arrived in the post.  Daisy loves cardboard boxes, so she was happy, and I was super pleased with my purchases...

The Monoi Oil and Gardenia Anti-Aging Moisturiser (£18.95) is one of the best I've ever tried.  The texture is quite heavy and it takes a while to rub in to my skin, so I use it as a night cream.  But the scent is absolutely exquisite.  It's fresh and exotic without being over-powering.  It's one I'll be repurchasing for some time to come.

The All In One Natural Mascara (£15.95) is plain black.  It has won a number of awards, and gets featured in the press a fair bit.  Honestly, it's not the best performing mascara I've ever had.  It takes a while to build up the colour and the results are less than dramatic.  But it doesn't matter!  It's cruelty free, it's natural, and it does the job.  It doesn't irritate my eyes, and it comes off pretty easily. All this is good enough for me, hence my repurchase.

The white object is the Avocado & Olive Sugar Scrub (£4.95).  I haven't tried this before, but it has a subtle, sweet small.  As a scrub connoisseur, I'm looking forward to trying it out.

In the centre are two little samples of their Pure Skin Liquid Foundation (75p each).  I've never tried these, but I am on the hunt for a good foundation, so will report back...  Finally, at the front are two free moisturiser samples.  PHB send a couple out with every order, and I find them useful for travel.  These are Argan & Immortelle, and Shea Butter & Apricot.

PHB do discounts and offers on a regular basis, and with 40% on this occasion, this order cost around £28.  The little flier drew to my attention the Monoi de Tahiti Hair Conditioning Mask, which I've never tried.  If it's anything like the moisturiser, it will be amazing, so it's on my list for next time.

Cooking my way through....

Lately, I've got into a bit of a food rut.  As in, I've started to get a bit tired of the usual things I eat from day to day.  During the week, I rely quite a lot on, for example, pasta and pesto, because it's quick, easy and tasty.  At the weekends, I normally cook up a curry or a tagine of some kind.  But it tends to be the same things over and over again.  To the point where, lately, I'll find myself just having a bowl of cereal for tea rather than cook, due to a serious lack of inspiration.

Set against that, I have loads of cook books in the house, and with many of them, I've only tried one or two recipes and not explored any further.

So, with a pile of unused cook books, and a spell of eating ennui setting in, I've decided to choose one at a time and cook my way through it over a few weeks.  Not every last recipe, but picking out the ones that appeal, or that are a bit different to my normal fare. 

First up is Slim and Healthy Vegetarian, by Judith Wills, and modelled here by Daisy. 

This is quite an old book, it was published in 1994.  Nonetheless, I've held onto it as there's some good stuff in here.  Previously, I've made the Black Bean Soup, the Spanish Chickpeas, and the Bombay Supper from it. 

Glancing through it now, I really like the sound of the following:

• Italian Artichokes
• Marinated Aubergine and Tomato
• Avocado and Tofu Dip
• Hereford Hot-Pot

Hopefully, muesli as an evening meal will be put on the back burner for a while.

Yarrah Cat Food - Review

Just an update on my search for a more ethical brand of cat food, which I kicked off a few posts back.  After deciding against Lily's Kitchen, I got in some of Co-op's own brand cat food as in interim measure, but Daisy wasn't having it - just wouldn't eat it, so now there is a mostly full, rejected box of it in the cupboard.  I'll try and shift it on Freecycle before it goes stale.

As mentioned, I'm using the guide on the Ethical Consumer website to try out cat food brands that are more ethical than Go-Cat.  Whilst this is the majority of cat foods, the choices that I can buy locally were not inspiring.  So I took to the internet, and ordered the Yarrah organic dried cat food with fish from Planet Organic.  Yarrah scores 16 out of 20 on the ratings table, so it's pretty near the top.

With a 10% discount for my first order, this 800g bag cost £5.84.  I reckon I'd need two bags a month to keep Daisy fed, so it's expensive, but not prohibitively so.  Also, I'll be able to buy it in 3kg packs, which takes a bit off the price. 

The only issue with buying in bulk is that Daisy might go off it. But that's how it rolls with cats - their picky nature has to be accepted! 

But so far, Daisy likes her Yarrah!  I mixed it with her old cat food for a while to get her used to it, and all seems to be well.  The only problem is that, as with so many organic products, it comes in plastic.  I have no idea why this should be, but that may be a subject for another post. 

The verdict: we'll stick with Yarrah and see how it goes.  If I find a good alternative with better packaging, we'll try that, but for now it seems like a good choice.  Especially if it results in a content, well-fed kitty.

The Vegan Kind Beauty Box - August 2017 - review

My TVK (The Vegan Kind) August beauty box arrived a week or two ago, and here are this month's goodies.   This box is quarterly, which works well for me as I don't get through the products any too quickly.  In fact, I'm thinking of stopping the subscription for a bit, as I've got quite a lot of stuff piling up now.

 

Of this box, my favourite is the little Eden 10ml perfume sample of 'Daisy'.  It's fresh, floral, and smells quite sophisticated.  I don't use loads of perfume, so 10ml will last for a while. 

 

The tin on the far right of the picture is Figs and Rouge Hydra-Activ 3 in 1 Hero Cream.  Unfortunately, I had to give it to my partner as I didn't really like the scent.  However, the cream had a good, rich texture, and I'd imagine it would do the job pretty well.  no feedback from my partner as yet...

 

In the centre is Chirp Body Softnest 100% Natural Hair Mask - it smells lovely, but I haven't tried it yet...

 

The Zerreau Waterless Body Wash is a foam that you apply to yourself, and then towel off again to, as is suggests, have a wash without water.  It smells pleasant, and produces quite a lot of foam which seems to work pretty well.  I wouldn't want to rely on it for too long, but it would work well in an emergency situ.

 

And lastly, the little Tisserand Happy Aromatherapy Roller Ball.  This contains bergamot, lemon tea tree and nutmeg oils, and it's quite a strong,earthy scent.  It's the sort of thing I would use at work, just to have a little rub on your wrists for quick burst of fragrance that won't overpower everybody.  I think it'll be a nice thing to use coming into the autumn months. 

 

(There was also supposed to be a little sachet of Faith in Nature shampoo, but it didn't make it into the box.  Never mind...)

 

This month's chosen charity is Animal Free Research UK, which I'm happy to see supported. 

 

Like I said, I may not get another box for a while - I need to prioritise using up the stuff I have already, but I'll be reviewing products in more depth as I get through them.  A TVK subscription is a lovely way to find new cruelty-free delights, so I'll be looking forward to my next one, whenever that might be.



 

Charity shop mini-haul

Another mini-haul! I've noticed that a lot of charity shops are charging much higher prices than they used to.  Of course they have to make money for the charity, but when they start to charge the same as it would cost to buy things new, it gets a bit much.  Recently, I've seen things like cafetieres for around £10!  It's not really an incentive to buy second hand if you can buy new for about the same money.

Set against that, my local RSPCA charity shop likes to keep its prices down, and I picked up these little bargains on my last trip there.

1) A piece of fabric, £1.  The colours are so vivid, and it's going to be big enough to make a great shopping bag.
2) A little compact Denman brush/mirror, 20p.  I travel quite a lot for work, and this is a really dinky little brush that I can keep in my travel bag, all ready to go.
3) Food for Free, by Richard Mabey, £1.49.  This is a book about foraging for food, including plants, fungi and seaweed.  I'm kind of nervous about foraging, so I'll avoid mushrooms for now, but I want to give it a go with the non-fungi items. 


Food for Free was published in 1972, but is still in print, and has been updated with more colour illustrations.  The original has lovely little drawings of the plants, although I'd still want to cross-reference with another source before eating anything, just to be sure...

 

This is the little Denman brush opened out, complete with mirror.

 



 

Lily's Kitchen cat food review

This is Daisy!  She is 6 now, and I've had her since she was 12 weeks old.  I didn't meet her until the day I got her.  A girl at work was looking for homes for four kittens, but I was just going on holiday, and there wasn't time to go round and see them. So I just agreed to have whichever kitten was left when I got back.  In other words, it was fate.  I now think of her as my lucky dip cat.

In the past, I've fed her supermarket own brands, and now she mostly gets Go-Cat.  But in an effort to (a) shop more ethically, and (b) rely less on supermarkets, I'm trying out some better alternatives.

Go-Cat is made by Purina, and scores 0 out of 20 on Ethical Consumer's ratings table for cat food.  A big fat zero.  My bad for buying the stuff, that's for sure.  The good news is that things can only get better.  So I'm starting to mend our ways by trying out Lily's Kitchen, which scores a reasonable 12.5.

The good: I can buy Lily's Kitchen at my local high street pet shop.  I got the fish flavour, and it does smell like there's plenty of actual fish in there.  Crucially, Daisy really likes it. 

The less good: it is very expensive.  I've worked out that if I feed her the recommended daily amount for her weight, it will cost me around £275 a year.  It also comes in small packets which will last 5 days at the most.  This means that I'll have to buy several packs at a time, or start walking to the pet shop on a more regular basis.  The packaging claims to be biodegradable (good), but I'd be disposing of around 73 packets a year (less good).

The verdict: if it was up to Daisy, we'd stick to Lily's Kitchen.  However, the steep price and the inconveniently small packet sizes have left me unconvinced. 

The quest continues...

Aldi achieves cruelty-free status

Good news today - Aldi has achieved Leaping Bunny certification from Cruelty Free International for their own-brand range of household cleaning products.  They will be following up with certification for their beauty and personal care products, by all accounts.  So more good news on the way for the furry ones!

(Slightly late) May and June favourites

In May, I discovered Cup O' Coffee Face and Body Mask from Lush.  Although they call it a mask, I pretty much use it as a scrub.  Such a rich, sweet coffee scent, and a lovely gritty texture.  It is just gorgeous...

Sludgy goodness...

In June, I renewed my subscription to Ethical Consumer magazine for a second year.  This is an invaluable resource for anybody wanting to make more ethical choices in everyday life.  EC provides product guides from the best to the worst, analysing the performance of companies against a range of ethical and conservation concerns, including, say, their stance on climate change or workers' rights. 

At first, I went for the online subscription option, but I found that I just didn't engage with the magazine when it was on the screen.  Then EC contacted me and asked if I wanted to switch to the print version.  I said yes straight away, and I much prefer the printed magazine.  It is sent in a paper envelope, not a plastic cover (as are most subscription magazines).  I find that I refer back to the paper copy a lot more, and EC seem keen for the magazines to be passed on to people who might not otherwise subscribe.  This way, they can take their message to a wider audience. 

I wouldn't be without it now.  It is so helpfully in a really practical way.  For example, I normally buy supermarket cat food, but looking up EC's table on this product has been an eye opener.  But the solutions are right there in front of me, so it's a matter of checking out the alternatives and making the change to a better product. 

(Providing the cat will agree to eat her shiny new ethical chow, of course...)

Doing better....

A few weeks ago, I was on the train and I got a coffee.  I got a black coffee, and was therefore a bit surprised when (a) the lady on the trolley offered me a wooden stirrer (for black coffee?), and (b) gave me an extra disposable coffee cup in which to store my unnecessary stirrer.  I tried to refuse these items, but this lady was just so insistent.  I was pretty taken aback, but then I had to say to myself, what am I actually doing, buying this coffee in the first place???  Really, what?  I'm sitting here thinking, how wasteful etc, but the truth is, I have caused this waste.  I've bought a coffee knowing it would involve a disposable cup that would be used once then binned.  Then I'm put out because it involves slightly more waste then I'd envisaged? 

So that's it - no more buying a coffee on the train for me.  Yes, it's convenient, yes, it's nice to have a coffee on a long train journey, yes, it's easy to give in and do it just this once.  But if I think this sort of waste is bad, then I have to stop contributing to it.  I have to do better than this.

Simple catnip toy

No photos, but this catnip toy is so simple that none are needed.  Basically, get an old sock, but one without holes in.  Pour in some loose catnip, knot the sock at the ankle end, and give to your cat.  Providing your cat is susceptible to catnip, they will love it. 

With loose catnip, which I got at Sainsbury's, you can put more into the sock each time its potency fades.  You can also wash the sock once it becomes ingrained with cat slobber, which is a very good thing.  It's always tempting to buy your cat those cute little toys from the shops, but they don't need them.  They don't really care, and they get bored quickly anyway, so it's best to keep it simple (and inexpensive). 

Till next time...

April favourite

My favourite product of April has been the glorious chilli peanut butter by Biona (purchased at the Green Shop in Berwick-upon-Tweed - see post below for a link).  This is the best chilli peanut butter I've tasted.  Absolutely delicious on toast.  Love it.

The Green Shop, Berwick-upon-Tweed

This (link below) is a fabulous shop in Berwick-upon-Tweed, in Northumberland.  It has a great range of organic and otherwise eco things, including food, drink, clothing, make-up, toiletries, household bits and pieces, fresh veg, toilet roll, tooth brushes, etc.  All sorts of things, really.  If you live in the (far) north of England, or even happened to be passing close by on the A1, it is well worth a visit - I can't recommend highly enough.

https://berwickgreenshop.wordpress.com/

Further charity shop haul

Do two items count as a haul?  I don't know, but I was really pleased with these little items.  Both came from the Salvation Army shop, which still keeps its prices (mostly) pretty low. 

The little notebook cost 29p, and it's just so pretty, with the printed pages.  The soap was 99p, which was great considering that Neal's Yard soaps are normally more like £5 each.  This particular scent, Geranium and Orange, has been discontinued, and it has always been a favourite of mine, so I was chuffed when I spotted it. 

So a total spend of £1.28, which made me disproportionately happy with my mini haul...!

(Note to self - do not start out on a 7 posts in 7 days attempt when there is a bank holiday complete with visiting relatives taking up a big proportion on those 7 days - duh...)

Life hack - coin conversion for free

For today's' post, I want to share a little life hack that I discovered by accident.  I normally collect copper coins and then take them to the Coinstar machine at Sainsbury's (or wherever) to convert them to more practical and less heavy denominations. 

The banks aren't keen on changing coppers, so, even though the Coinstar charges something like 10p per £1 (I think), it at least provides a useful service.

But it turns out you can convert your coins for free by sneakily using the supermarket self-service checkouts.  I was being a bit dim one day - I tried to pay for some groceries with change, but I didn't have enough so I pressed the cancel button.  And - joy - it returned my money not as a load of change, but in pound coins! 

I tend to do this when the self-services till are quiet, so I'm not holding anybody up whilst I convert my coins.  But it allows me to get those annoying coppers processed without paying for it.  Result.

Charity shop mini haul - Coca Cola glasses

Day 2, Post 2 - I'd seen these little Coca Cola glasses before in a charity shop, but when I went back for them, they'd gone.  This was part of my policy of walking away and thinking about a purchase before buying - yes, even from charity shops.  But somebody else nabbed them whilst I was thinking, so I ended up saving my money on that occasion.  So when I spotted these two, a week or two ago, I snapped them up.  (They came from the Mind shop, which is a mental illness charity.) They're lovely to use, they feel nice and weighty in the hand, and I like the retro look.

They were each a different price - apparently, the purple colour is more sought after. Fair enough.  I see it as £3 for two, which is bargain enough for me!

Downsizing (my bin)

My normal sized wheelie bin started leaking a while ago through the lid.  It stays outside all the time, and was starting to crack.  (3.5 kilos of cat landing on it on an almost daily basis probably didn't help much...)  So I had a look at the options on the Council website.  A new standard sized bin (240 litres) was going to cost £33! 

But I was very pleased indeed when I spotted that there was another option, of downsizing to a small bin of 140 litres - for free!  As I can easily go for a month between collections, this was a great (and free!) option.  So I filled in the form, and now I have a super-dinky slender little bin. 

It's a really good incentive to produce less household waste, and I'm thinking of downsizing my recycling bin too.  The new bin is pretty much the same height as the old one, so the cat has not been inconvenienced too much when she uses it to jump down from the garden wall....

(In a bid to kick-start my blog, this is the first of 7 small posts in 7 days - after that, I want to post a bit more regularly.  Fingers crossed....)